Commentary

Mobile RTB Finds Its 'Prime Time,' And It's The Same As TV

Earlier this year, RTBlog wrote about the “right time” to run a mobile real-time bidding (RTB) campaign. The findings then -- which came from Q4 2013 data -- said the majority of revenue from mobile RTB was generated between 7 and 10 p.m (EST), with the 7 to 8 p.m. hour being the richest. The majority of auctions (80%), however, took place between 8 and 11 p.m.

That data came from Smaato’s Global Mobile RTB Insights report for Q4 2013, and the company this week released its Mobile RTB Insights report for Q2 2014, providing fresher data.

Interestingly, there was a complete shift in terms of time of day of auction volume. Smaato’s most recent report says that 70% of global mobile RTB auctions took place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (ET). Keep in mind that these are global stats, so the “time of day” is not 100% applicable to the U.S. However, the U.S. accounts for two-thirds of mobile RTB auction volume, so these “time of day” stats are skewed toward the U.S.

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Marketers spent the most between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. (ET) last quarter. This indicates that “prime time” for mobile devices is similar to prime time for TV. (It’s also representative of the fact that most TV watchers also have a smartphone in hand -- 80%, in fact, according to Nielsen Social.)

Publishers are charging more for inventory sold between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. (ET), further supporting the theory that 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (ET) is “prime time” for mobile advertising in addition to TV advertising. Smaato says that the eCPM was 22% high between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. (ET) compared to the hours before noon, which is when the most auctions were taking place.

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